While these sides haven’t met in a big finals game for a while now, there’s always plenty of spice when the Bulldogs and Roosters square off, and this showdown on Sunday promises to be no different.

It will be the second time this season that these sides do battle, with Luke Keary guiding the Roosters to a four-point victory back in Round 2 at Allianz.

The Roosters have gone on to cement themselves in the top four – and could even go top of the table if they can beat the Bulldogs by 12 points and Melbourne lose.

Trent Robinson’s side was tremendous last week, absolutely crushing the Eels 48-10, with Blake Ferguson and Daniel Tupou having a field day out wide, combining for five tries.

It was a completely opposite story for the Bulldogs, who dished up an extremely flat performance last week to lose 30-14 at home to a North Queensland Cowboys side without Johnathan Thurston.

Canterbury were never at the races and really lacked the spark and creativity in attack, noticeably missing the services of injured five-eighth Josh Reynolds.

Analysing both teams this season, it’s hard to see how the Bulldogs can win this. Des Hasler’s side are the equal-worst attacking team in the competition, only managing 152 points, while the Roosters are the second-best defensive outfit in the NRL. If those stats hold true, the Roosters emerge triumphant on Sunday.

Cronulla Sharks host the North Queensland Cowboys in a top six battle when the two sides open NRL Round 11 action on Thursday night.

With State of Origin quickly approaching, both the Sharks and Cowboys will be keen to add another valuable two points to their roster before they start losing players to the representative fixture.

After their two brilliant victories over the Storm and Panthers, where they racked up the points and didn’t concede a single try, the Sharks have simply been doing just enough to get by.

They were defeated at home by the Gold Coast Titans the following week, but Cronulla have returned to the winners circle over the last fortnight, registering scrappy wins over the Tigers and Dragons to climb into second spot on the ladder.

Last week’s 18-14 win over the Dragons was particularly messy, with the Sharks completing just 68 per cent of their sets and only winning due to a late, scrappy try that had an element of luck to it.

While the Sharks have been average but still winning, the Cowboys put in a stellar performance to take down the Bulldogs 30-14 last Thursday night.

It was a tremendous win for the Cowboys, especially without Johnathan Thurston, and it was the return of Jake Granville and Lachlan Coote at hooker and fullback that settled the side and handed some much needed control and experience into their spine.

In turn, Michael Morgan was able to play without as much pressure, and it showed with the five-eighth playing easily his best game of the season.

But can the Cowboys post back-to-back wins? Cronulla are a much more disciplined team than the erratic Bulldogs and they have won their last two meetings, including the preliminary finals last season. It promises to be another close game, but I think the Sharks grind out another tough win at home.

The Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors both face short turnarounds from ANZAC Day when they clash on Sunday in NRL Round 9 action in Auckland.

With the Roosters and Warriors both playing in brushing ANZAC Day encounters on Tuesday, which side will back up best and come away with the two points across the ditch on Sunday?

After staying toe-to-toe with Melbourne – and even outplaying the competition leaders at times – for 65 minutes, the Warriors ultimately came away with nothing, falling 20-14 – their fifth loss of the season, which sees them slip to 12th on the ladder.

By contrast, the Roosters prevailed in their respective ANZAC Day clash with the Dragons, bouncing back from conceding a late try to emerge golden points winners courtesy of a Mitchell Pearce field goal.

The win lifts the Roosters to third on the ladder, and if Melbourne beats the Dragons in the other game on Sunday, they can climb into second with a victory over the Warriors.

The Roosters haven’t been overly impressive over the last few weeks, but they’ve won their last two matches since suffering their heaviest defeat of the season against Brisbane, and they will be targeting another steady performance on Sunday.

Again, by contrast, the Warriors have lost their last two matches against the Raiders and Storm after beating Parramatta three weeks ago, and now they are tasked with facing another of the competitions heavyweights this week.

The Warriors actually have a great record against the Roosters at home, but the Kiwi club are just too erratic to confidently tip. The Roosters have been solid and got the job done the last two weeks – and I fancy them to do the same again in Auckland.

Penrith Panthers look to snap a four-game losing run when they travel north to face the Brisbane Broncos to open NRL Round 9 action on Thursday night.

With Tuesday’s thrilling ANZAC day matches done and dusted, we don’t have to wait long for the next dose of NRL action, with the Broncos and Panthers squaring off at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.

Brisbane were dealt one of the toughest opening draws in recent memory over the first month or so of the competition – and they play extremely well throughout – but there level has dropped since halfback Ben Hunt got injured, with the Broncos posting narrow triumphs over the Titans and Rabbitohs in the last fortnight.

The Broncos easily could have lost both games – they needed a last-minute charge down from Matt Gillett to score the match-winner against the Titans, while several controversial refereeing calls went their way against Souths, including the Anthony Milford field goal, which he appeared to have knocked on.

Further illustrating Brisbane’s slump is the fact they’ve conceded 22 points or more in their last two matches – something they hadn’t done in the first six rounds.

The main shining light for the Broncos has been Darius Boyd, who has taken the pressure off Milford with his ability to create and slot seamlessly into the backline to set up tries on the wing.

But while the Broncos’ level has definitely dipped, the Panthers are in far worse predicament.

Penrith have been extremely disappointing so far this season, posting a dismal 2-6 record and producing nowhere near the level that had them touted as premiership favourites in the pre-season.

Pressure continues to build at the foot of the mountains and on former Broncos coach Anthony Griffin as he desperately attempts to find some form among his troops.

The Panthers haven’t score more than 12 points in three of their last four games, indicating that their young halves are struggling to back up last year’s efforts, while Matt Moylan is also in a big form slump.

One thing the Panthers have going for them is their recent history against the Broncos – they’ve won four of the last five meetings – but a trip to Suncorp in this sort of form must remain daunting. Brisbane aren’t playing their bet, but at home, I think they find a way to win and condemn Penrith to a fifth straight loss.

Cronulla Sharks look to continue their sensational form when they entertain the Gold Coast Titans in the final game on Super Saturday at Southern Cross Group Stadium.

Capturing back-to-back premierships has become an almost impossible feat over the two decades, and while there’s still a long way too go, Cronulla’s last two performances have a lot of people saying they could break the drought.

The Sharks haven’t conceded a try over the last fortnight in their two victories over the Storm and Panthers – sides that were joint premiership favourites at the start of the season.

Furthermore, both triumphs were recorded away from home, with Cronulla conceding just one penalty goal in each game, clinically grinding out a tough with over Melbourne in torrential rain before dismantling Penrith 28-2 last week.

As was the case last season, the Sharks have been blessed with minimal injury concerns, with 12 of their players this week featuring in every game this season, including their halves and entire starting forward pack.

By contrast, just six Titans have played every game this season, while Gold Coast have used six more players throughout the first seven rounds than Cronulla.

However the Titans could welcome back multiple key figures this week, with Jarryd Hayne, Kevin Proctor, Konrad Hurrell and Joe Greenwood all named in the reserves as they continue their comebacks from injury.

While the Titans sit second-last on the ladder, they can take solace in the fact that their attack is still firing – they’ve actually scored four more tries than the Sharks this season – so if they can tidy up their defence, Gold Coast would prove to be a formidable force.

But there’s also the concern that the inclusion of Jarryd Hayne could disrupt the combinations that the Titans have established in the backline – sort of similar to what happened when Hayne arrived at the club midway through last season.

Hayne hasn’t proven to be a hit at the Titans as most thought, and if he plays, I actually think Gold Coast’s attack will suffer. Cronulla should tough out another victory and continue on their winning ways.